Hill, 43, had come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, earning a stay of execution following his side's win at Millwall on 22 December. But a seventh home league defeat of the season was the tipping point, leaving Barnsley searching for their fourth manager in three and a half years.

The club's general manager, Don Rowing, said: "Keith and his assistant Dave Flitcroft have given their all to the club and played some attractive football. Keith was very disappointed but this was a decision made by the board and not by one man. It is a very sad day."

Blackburn's global advisor, Shebby Singh, meanwhile, revealed that he has met several potential candidates to replace Henning Berg, who was sacked on Thursday after 57 days in the job.

Berg's record of one win during that period followed Steve Kean's deeply unpopular spell in charge that included relegation to the Championship.

Singh said he hoped to secure a candidate with a proven track record, but offered no guarantees. "Most certainly, experience is something that we are looking at," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "I am in conversation with a couple of very, very experienced managers. But we have to accept there's no secret formula. There's always the one who didn't work out."

One who certainly did not work out was Berg, and Singh accepted responsibility for getting that decision wrong. "Hindsight is very good but at the end of the day, all decisions whether right or wrong will only be proven in due time," he said. "Unfortunately our results were not very encouraging, and you've got to decide how long can you put up with that.

"It was 10 games – let's look at it that way, from a football angle. Ten games is a lifetime, it can decide the future of a club for many, many years.

"I'll put up my hands and say if I got it wrong, I got it wrong. But it's not the end of the world. You still have to think there are aspects of the club which have progressed."

On Friday, Singh was forced to deny bizarre rumours that untested amateur Judan Ali was set to take up a role on Blackburn's coaching staff. Ali, who starred in a Bollywood football film, himself rejected the story on Saturday.

"I have no intentions of coaching at Blackburn," Ali said. "I'm not privy to any information about this. It's a time of volatility or controversy or whatever you want to call it and I happen to be at the centre of it all."